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Sunday, May 27, 2012

I want to talk about sex for a moment.

Why? Well, for starters it's my blog and I have to write something. Secondly, there's a tropical storm pounding at my window and I can't play golf and I've written my allotted pages today. Thirdly, I get asked about it a lot.

My John Logan thrillers have sex hinted at and lovely females are described, and there's a sexy aura about it all, but when it comes to describing Logan and Teri's bedroom scenes, I prefer to fade back and let the door shut and leave it to the reader's imagination.

I know. Sex sells. Fifty Shades of Gray has sold 10 million copies. On TV and in the literary world sex sells. I cut my teeth as a teen on the Death Merchant and Jake Logan series where you could always count on a couple of good sex scenes.

One of my fav modern authors is Eric Jerome Dickey. His books about Gabriel, the mysterious assassin for hire are examples of powerul writing, plot, and characters. His books have action, and sex. For me, a little too much. One of the books has two entire chapters devoted to a threesome between Gabriel and two women he met on a flight to London. It was nice and it revealed a little about the woman, but for me it was overkill. Each scene, each word, needs to add something to the story--if it doesn't it needs to go on the cutting room floor. Sorry, Eric, I think you overdid it.

There are times when a little sex doesn't hurt. For me, though, I use the less is better philosophy. For my Logan books, the sex is simply a part of the relationship between my two characters. A scene with a play by play of the act really wouldn't add to the story or the characters. I cut to the pillow talk afterward.

Perhaps one day I'll write something that has a really steamy scene but Logan has always been a character whom I've never felt the need to peer behind his bedroom door. Logan and Teri have a good and active sex life and I'm pretty sure she is quite good in bed but for now their under cover exploits will remain firmly rooted in the minds of my readers. I'll let you decide how it plays out.

10 million copies, huh? Wow...maybe I can come up with something.......

Saturday, May 12, 2012

This is the worst for me as a writer.

First draft of my latest project is complete, ready to be set in the deepest recesses of digital memory, never to be looked at for many weeks. It is this time that a writer must ask himself: what's next?

I usually take a break. Usually I finish a draft working feverishly on it for a week or so and when it's done I give myself a few days to decompress but in reality I'm already asking that question even as I save the project to my jump drive. What is next?

So even as I write this I'm already working out possibilities. So even though I'm between projects, I'm still writing in a sense. Still thinking about things.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

One of the things that I believe makes a good writer is the ability to notice things. Whether it's how snow rests on the side of a hill or the way sunlight glistens off of the water, it's important for a writer to notice things like that. After all, how are you supposed to relay such scenes to a reader if you've never truly experienced them yourself?

Another thing that I've noticed is feelings. Today, for example, I sat in the basketball stadium of the University of Florida and watched my daughter--my oldest child--walk across the stage and receive her B.S. degree. Her education is not complete. In a couple of months she will move to graduate school--a move that will bring her closer to home, I admit, but another 4 years of hard study.

Tonight, it's all over. The ceremony done, presents unwrapped, food eaten, and I gave her a final hug by the car as the rest of us prepared to make the drive back home. I didn't want to let her go. I have been a whirling kaleidoscope of emotion and it's taken me all day to sort them out. Proud? Oh, yes, she has made me and her mom so very proud. She is a smart young woman, pretty, with a wonderful heart and my sense of humor. Sad? Yep. The little girl is gone, replaced by this adult and my desire to hug her and never let her go, to pick her up and bring her back home, yet knowing that I can't because she has dreams to fulfill and goals to reach, makes me sad.

Miss her? Yes. You see, my son has moved back home and even when he wasn't here, he still lived close so we see him a lot. My daughter and I share a bond unique, I think, to most father/daughters. My daughter has come to me to talk about things that most girls would never think of talking to their dads about. We have shared that bond since she was a child and we have always been able to be open and honest with each other without pretense.

So tonight, dear readers, I am awash in emotions. Excited about the new phase of her life and the promise that it holds. Sad that she's not here to tease and talk to, but proud as hell for the woman that she's become. We did good, mom and I.

Anyway, my point is remembering these feelings, this mixing of emotions how they swirl together and come apart in a constant ever-changing mixture of joy and tears. For in those emotions lie the heart of us all and if your characters can feel that same thing when appropriate, they will be richer and more real to your readers.

And to my daughter: you will always be my little girl. I love you and I am so proud of you.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

My good friend Kent Holloway has a fantastic website where he interviews authors, reviews books, and generally has a great time. This week, he asked me to stop by and talk about how John Logan came into being. You can read my response here.